James Potter and the Hat's Enigma: Year One
by willshakespeare-immortalbard
Summary: Year One of James Potter's years at Hogwarts. Follow him and his friends as they take Hogwarts Year One as it hits them. And find out why James had a reputation for being a trouble-maker. Rated T. Please read/review!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N—I don't own this. J.K. Rowling owns **_**Harry Potter**_** and all the characters and places. **

**Summary: Year One of the Marauders' Hogwarts experience. Told from James' Potter's POV—I've always believed that he had many of his own Harry-ish experiences at Hogwarts. **

**Please read/review! Many thanks!**

**willshakespeare-immortalbard**

**James Potter and the Hat's Enigma**

The train whistle screamed, and smoke puffed and billowed out onto the platform of 93/4. It curled around the feet of the people milling about the engine, and gave the packed trolleys the appearance of floating. Snatches of voices rose briefly over the whistle, throbbing in James' ears. His fingers tightened around his ticket, and he felt the paper bite into the skin of his palm. In his pocket he could hear the soft rustling of his Hogwarts letter. He hadn't needed it anymore, but he liked to hold on to it.

"Come on, James," his father said, pushing James between the shoulder blades, shoving him forward. The movement made James' stomach, still a little messed up from the barrier, twist, and he reeled, clinging to the handle bar of his trolley. He had to focus on the name printed on the foremost trunk—James R. Potter—in order to settle his stomach. When he gained control over himself, he moved on, looking around him, soaking in the people around him, trying to pick out first years, searching for someone he might want to meet.

Over by the barrier, a tall, severe woman dressed all in black stood by the side of a man of the same sort. They both seemed to be speaking to a young boy. The boy was tall and lanky, with sweeping black hair. He was leaning against the edge of the barrier, in the charm's blind spot, so that he didn't fall back through. Another boy of about 9 sat at his feet, ignoring the father's occasional attempts to pull him to his feet. He was pouting grumpily.

A little ways off a plump, blond-haired boy was weeping, clinging to his parents, who were both also crying. As James watched, the three crumpled to the ground, still embracing, and continued to make a rather embarrassing scene of parting.

Watching this group was another young boy, sneering and laughing. His greasy hair whipped around as he turned to nudge a pretty red-haired girl who stood next to him. The girl looked at the group with a mixed expression of laughter and understanding, and turned away, clearly about to cry, after casting a glance off to her left, where a girl a little older was glaring at her with a look of intense hatred.

Behind the elder girl, a young boy with sandy-brown hair slipped in through the other side of the barrier, looking warily at the black-haired boy, who made a show of falling at the new arrival's knees and begging for mercy. The boy backed away, fear turning him pale, emphasizing the jagged scars that lined his face. He looked for an adult, and a man—his father?—laughed and pulled him off.

"Come on, James." Another shove in the back reminded James that he had to catch the train, and he stumbled onwards, slipping through the crowd towards one of the cars. When he finally reached it, he turned towards his parents.

Both were smiling proudly, and his mother's eyes glittered with tears. She hugged him fiercely, saying, "I'm so proud of you, James. You've made us so proud."

His father nodded, and patted him on the shoulder. "Behave."

"I will," James laughed. His father shook his head.

"No you won't. You'll be just like me—a trouble-maker."

"Just don't get into danger, sweetie," his mother told him as he ruffled his hair and stepped back to let him board the train.

As the train pulled off, James couldn't help leaning out of the window and yelling, for the whole world to hear,

"I'm going to _Hogwarts_!"

* * *

><p>"Me too," someone piped up, and James spun around to see the plump boy of before standing beside him. His watery eyes were still red.<p>

"Yeah," James said. "Yeah."

"Have you got a compartment yet?"

"No."

The boy perked up. "We can share! Do you want to?"

James sighed, knowing what his mother would want, and said, "Sure."

He grabbed his trunk, and noticing that his companion seemed to be having difficulty with his, grabbed the other one also, leaving the other boy to follow him, spewing thanks.

"I'm Peter Pettigrew," he gasped, and then shrieked as a cat barreled down the hall. "I'm going to be a first year."

"James Potter. I'm a first year too."

"Really? I thought you were older. You look like my older brother—well, not really. I mean, you look around the same age."

"What year is your brother in?" James asked.

Peter coughed, and then said, "Third year. He's in Hufflepuff."

"D'you think that's where you're headed?"

"I dunno. I really want to go to Gryffindor."

James bit back a laugh, and settled for kindly saying, "That's where I want to go too. Oh! Look, an empty compartment—"

"Who said it was empty?" The black-haired boy James had first seen was lounging on one of the seats, taking up the whole bench-like fixture. His hair was in his eyes, and he looked out at them with mischievous grey eyes. "I'm here."

"Sorry," James said good-naturedly. "We didn't notice you. D'you mind if we sit here?"

The boy shook his head, and, grinning, took his feet off the seat, making room for them. He even stood and help James shove Peter's trunk onto the luggage rack.

"Yeesh," James grunted. "This thing is _heavy_."

"I know," Peter said apologetically. "But I had to bring my cot."

They froze.

"Um, you know that there are beds in the dorms, right?" the other boy said.

Peter looked down, blushing, and murmured something.

"Well, now we have something to use if anyone needs a place to hide out," James said cheerfully, and Peter smiled again.

"Sirius Black," the boy said suddenly, tossing himself back onto a seat.

"James Potter."

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Oops, I am _so_ sorry!"

* * *

><p>A stack of books went tumbling, blocking the hallway, and they all looked out of the compartment door curiously.<p>

"Have you ever heard of a _trunk_?"

James realized that the new speaker was the greasy-haired boy who had laughed at Peter, who was now chastising someone else James recognized—the pale, scarred boy who had been so scared when accosted by Sirius.

Sirius got up and opened the door, quickly stooping to help the boy pick up his books, all the while talking to the greasy-haired boy.

"You know what, it was an accident."

"He bumped into me, and practically avalanched me with books that _should have been_ in a _trunk_!"

"Sev," a girl cut in, "just cut it out. It was an accident."

"I'm sorry," the boy apologized again.

"Forget it," Sirius said kindly, crawling in between people's legs, reaching for another book. An unidentified foot kicked it towards him, and he muttered a thank you.

"Forget it," the girl said at the same time, dragging 'Sev' away. She looked back, and smiled apologetically at the boys, before disappearing into a compartment. The crowd cleared, now that the hall was unblocked, and soon it was just Sirius and the boy, both stacking the books up.

"Thanks," the boy said.

"No problem. Forget about it. Mistakes happen. Sirius Black." He stuck out his hand, almost toppling the pile again. The boy looked shocked, and then shook Sirius' hand.

"Remus Lupin."

"Peter Pettigrew and James Potter," Sirius plowed on, pointing at James and Peter in turn.

"Hey," James said, while Peter squeaked a hello, too in awe of the boy's huge stack of books to make a whole sentence.

"We've got room," James continued, "if you need a compartment."

Remus smiled, but looked worried. "I don't want to intrude..."

"Silly. There's plenty of room, so long no one lounges," James insisted. Sirius laughed, and promised not to take up extra space. As he gathered up Remus' books, he asked,

"Do you have a trunk?"

"No. I—"

Sirius fell to his knees and hugged Remus' ankles.

"Thank you!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N—I don't own this. J.K. Rowling owns **_**Harry Potter**_** and all the characters and places. **

"Whoa..." James stopped abruptly, and behind him Peter tripped over his trunk.

"What is that?" Peter squeaked, hiding behind Sirius, staring up at the man before them.

A tall—_very_ tall—man stood in front of the little group, his bushy black beard puffing out from his face and sprawling over ruddy cheeks. His black eyes sparkled as he looked down at them.

"That's a giant," Sirius said, and Peter slid towards the ground. Remus _tut-tut_ed softly, and Sirius looked at him, motioning towards the giant. "Well, if he's not a giant, then what is he?"

"A half-giant," Remus stated, shifting his pile of books as he searched for something. His fingers scrabbled at the spine of a particularly thick book, and he tried to get a hold on it. James reached out and pulled the book from the pile and handed it to Remus, who promptly put down his stack of books—_why couldn't he have done that earlier?—_and flipped through the pages of _The Complete Book of Magical Creatures_, talking all the while.

"Giants stand at 22 to24 feet,"—here he held up the book, displaying a diagram on the page—"but this man's not even 15."

"How do you know?" Sirius retorted.

"Because I'm 4'10", and this man's about 3 of me, which would make him around 14 ½ feet."

Peter's face was pink as he tried to follow along with Remus' train of thought, and Sirius was holding up his hands, visually adding up the total. James didn't even try.

The _half_-giant laughed loudly, making every one of them jump.

"Oh, very good! Clever, 'en't we, eh?"

Remus flushed and looked at his feet.

"I bet I know where yer goin'. Meh name's Hagrid."

"Hello, Hagrid," Remus said, and James and the others greeted him likewise. Hagrid smiled at them and ruffled Remus' hair before saying,

"But come on, now! Firs' years, come along this way!"

He swung his lantern towards the shadowy platform, illuminating a small group of boats.

"Boats?" Sirius asked. "Boats?" He grinned. "This is awesome!"

Around them, other children were crowding into carriages. Peter looked wistfully at them, starting to protest with an "Oh, can't we go in the—" before he screamed,

"There aren't any horses!"

Remus and James both turned to look, and quickly affirmed Peter's declaration. The carriages weren't drawn by anything. There was nothing there.

"What?" Remus whispered.

"Thestrals. They can only be seen by people who have...who have seen someone die. They're spectral horses, though a lot larger and they're mostly harmless, so long as you don't bother them and don't harm their young." It was Sirius speaking.

"Have you seen someone die?" James asked.

Sirius shook his head. "Nope. But my brother is mortally afraid of anything he can't see, so I learned all about them. He still thinks that a thestral lives beneath his bed and eats his socks, and I told him that two years ago." He laughed. "Once I actually made a fake thestral model and put it under his bed. He screamed for an hour."

They had moved towards the boats as Sirius related his tale, and James whooped, punching Sirius on the arm.

"Awesome!"

"It was funny," Remus said, wiping at his eyes.

"But how could you do such a thing to your brother?" Peter asked unhappily.

Sirius looked at him.

"Because my...never mind. It was a joke. Like what your brother plays on you all the time."

"My brother doesn't play pranks on me."

"Oh. Well. I guess I'll have to fix that by being the brother that _does_." Sirius accompanied this statement with a pat on the back, and Peter yelped as a chocolate frog hopped on his neck and into the water.

They laughed all the harder as they got into the boats, until Sirius said,

"Now, stay away from the water, or the Giant Squid will eat you."

Remus and Peter both paled, and Remus began flipping through his book frantically, trying to read the entry on the Giant Squid by lantern light.

"He's kidding," James said when he saw that Peter was about to cry. It had been a great joke, he thought, but he didn't want Peter crying in front of the whole school. "Okay. Ask Remus. The Giant Squid is harmless."

Remus nodded, and shot a grumpy glare at Sirius. His research had proved Sirius to be kidding, and he apparently hadn't liked being tricked.

Sirius grinned. "Tricked you."

* * *

><p>They managed to pass the rest of the boat ride in silence, because when they saw the huge castle, Peter and Remus were too awed to speak, and James and Sirius were content to stare happily at the place they had so long wished to see.<p>

"Come along, up the stairs, this way, firs' years!" Hagrid called as they moored the boats and stepped out onto the stone steps.

"Gryffindor," James muttered to himself. "Please..."

"I'll be a Slytherin," Sirius told him, having heard James' plea. "So whatever you get, you're going to be better than me."

"You don't strike me as a Slytherin type," Remus said matter-of-factly. "You seem like a Gryffindor."

"My whole family is in Slytherin, Remus. I'm doomed."

Peter began to sob. "I don't want to get sent home!"

An already jittery young girl behind them heard Peter's cry and began to wail that "she didn't want to go home, either!" Soon most of the first years were weeping at the thought of being sent home.

"There ain't anyone who's goin' to be sent home," Hagrid assured them as he led them through a pair of large doors. "No one's goin' home. Everyone who gets a letter has a place somewhere. You just might end up in Hufflepuff..."

That made a few children cry harder, though the majority were soothed by Hagrid's words.

"Thank you, Hagrid," a stern voice said, and they all turned to look up at a woman in green who stood before another set of closed doors. She held a roll of parchment in one hand.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "My name is Professor McGonagall. I am head of Gryffindor house."

"Ugh," Sirius muttered. "She looks fun."

"Each and every one of you, as Hagrid said just now, has received a letter. That means that you have a place in Hogwarts. Let me assure that that no one will be sent home because they don't belong here. If you're sent home, it's for disciplinary reasons."

Everyone sighed in relief.

"When you enter the Great Hall, you will head for the teacher's podium, where you'll be sorted into your House. You cannot switch houses, and you cannot trade. When I call your name, step forward."

McGonagall opened the doors and ushered them all in down the center aisle, towards the large table at the front.

A small stool with a battered hat sat at the edge of the podium, and the children whispered agitatedly, trying to figure out what it was for. McGonagall stood by the stool, and opened her scroll, reading out the first name.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N—I don't own this. J.K. Rowling owns **_**Harry Potter**_** and all the characters and places. **

**Summary: Year One of the Marauders' Hogwarts experience. Told from James' Potter's POV—I've always believed that he had many of his own Harry-ish experiences at Hogwarts. **

**Please read/review! Many thanks to all who have reviewed this piece or followed it or me. I really appreciate your time!**

**willshakespeare-immortalbard**

A sudden whisper rolled through the Hall, and James heard snatches of conversations:

"_What about the song—?"_

_"—there's always—"_

_"Weird..."_

Finally someone spoke out, calling up towards the Head table,

"Professor Dumbledore, what about the Sorting Song?"

Dumbledore stood. Beside James, Remus twitched, and when James turned, he saw pure admiration and gratitude shining in the boy's eyes. He vaguely wondered what Dumbledore had done to elicit such a reaction, but Dumbledore's next words dragged his attention back to the battered hat, still sitting perched on a young, trembling girl's head.

"The Sorting Hat, has, this year, chosen to remain silent. That is all. It will sort each student as usual, and nothing of importance shall be altered or affected."

Dumbledore sat back down, and the Hall quieted, though ripples of confusion still permeated the air. James shifted uncomfortably, and beside him Peter whispered,

"I don't understand..."

The hat called out "HUFFLEPUFF", and the girl scrambled off the stool, stumbling into the midst of the other first years. Sirius patted her on the back as she headed for the Hufflepuff table, and James noticed that he looked unhappy as he trudged on up towards the stool in response on McGonagall's "Black, Sirius".

The seconds ticked by, and finally the hat proclaimed "GRYFFINDOR". Sirius quickly slipped back into the crowd, but he was smiling broadly and he high-fived Remus, who whispered "Good job".

On and on the list went, and then "Evans, Lily" was called up. The pretty red-haired girl from the train walked up to the hat and sat primly down, carefully placing the hat on her head. It screamed out "GRYFFINDOR" and she smiled, rather regretfully, as she looked sadly at greasy "Sev", who moaned softly.

A little later, "Lupin, Remus" was announced, and Remus approached the stool. He was pale, and his scars stood out vibrantly. He looked nervously at Dumbledore, who winked at him. The hat seemed to be unsure about Remus, because it took nearly five minutes for it to shout "GRYFFINDOR". Remus was trembling as he passed James, and Peter supported him out of the crowd and pushed him toward the table, where Sirius whooped and smacked him on the back.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Pettigrew, Peter," McGonagall called, and Peter hurried forward. He was sweating profusely, and he rubbed his feet together as he sat on the stool. The hat quickly placed him in Gryffindor, and James stepped up as McGonagall called out "Potter, James."

_"Hogwarts is being poisoned..."_ the hat said, and James nearly asked "what?" out loud, but managed to catch himself and think his question. _"From within...someone seeks to tear Hogwarts limb from limb and leave it broken. You're brave, lad, and I've seen the minds of the people you've befriended. Together, you can stop this. Together you can all be...GRYFFINDOR!"_

James started as the hat suddenly yelled out his House. He took the hat from his head. As he placed it back down, he felt something fall into the palm of his hand, and he heard one last whisper in his mind.

_"Keep it_._"_

He hurried down the steps, clenching his hand into a fist around the hat's object, and the Sorting continued.

"Snape, Severus", Remus' greasy-haired tormenter, went, appropriately, into Slytherin, and soon the hat and stool were taken away. Dumbledore stood and spoke a few words that James didn't pay any attention to, and then food appeared on the table.

James took advantage of the bustle to sneak a look at what he held in his hand.

A small crystal ball shimmered in his palm.

.


End file.
